Could the NHL be expanding to 34 Franchises with New Teams in Atlanta and Houston?

[Buffalonill]

@freester  Apparently disagrees please tell me how the 3rd time is going to work ? 

 

[Huckleberry]

Well could probably add QC if , Arizona moves to Houston and you add Atlanta to the central division.   
But would mean moving Dallas to the pacific again and they hate that.

 

[freester]

5 hours ago, Buffalonill said:

@freester  Apparently disagrees please tell me how the 3rd time is going to work ? 

 

Please read GASabresIUfans long post earlier. Essentially the Thrashers owners had no interest in hockey and were just interested in purchasing the Hawks and the Arena but were forced to include the Thrashers. They all hated each other and sued each other multiple times. They spent only the minimum on hockey. A new arena on the north suburban area with great ownership would be a huge success. Idk if there is a rich owner who wants a team in Atlanta. 

[Buffalonill]

31 minutes ago, freester said:

Please read GASabresIUfans long post earlier. Essentially the Thrashers owners had no interest in hockey and were just interested in purchasing the Hawks and the Arena but were forced to include the Thrashers. They all hated each other and sued each other multiple times. They spent only the minimum on hockey. A new arena on the north suburban area with great ownership would be a huge success. Idk if there is a rich owner who wants a team in Atlanta. 

Ok will see if they can  Actually fill out in arena which they didn't with what 3 hall of fame players and danny heatley

 

[IKnowPhysics]

 

 

 

[shrader]

If they have to do it, give them the Coyotes.  The big problem with expansion is that it wouldn't just be 2 teams, it would eventually be 4.  36 is way too many teams, but they need that balance across the 4 divisions.

MONEY GRAB

[Brawndo]

@GASabresIUFAN Thoughts? 

[GASabresIUFAN]

1 hour ago, Brawndo said:

@GASabresIUFAN Thoughts? 

TNT wants a team here and they are one of the broadcast partners.  If you build it, a team will come.  

Think about it. Comcast owns the Flyers, Rogers and BCE own the Leafs. MCG owns the Rags, and Fenway (of all people) owns the Pens (w Mario).  Having a broadcaster own the franchise is the trend.  I wouldn't be at all surprised if Turner Broadcasting (Warner Bros) is the money (or in partnership) behind getting a team.  

FYI Liberty Media owns the Atlanta Braves. The development of the Battery around the new Braves stadium near my home has been a huge success.  It's become an entertainment hub for NW Atlanta with Bars, Restaurants, Offices, Hotels, and the Roxy Theatre.  Building a similar complex to service NE/NC Atlanta should also work.

 

Edited April 17, 2023 by GASabresIUFAN

[shrader]

2 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

TNT wants a team here and they are one of the broadcast partners.  If you build it, a team will come.  

Think about it. Comcast owns the Flyers, Rogers and BCE own the Leafs. MCG owns the Rags, and Fenway (of all people) owns the Pens (w Mario).  Having a broadcaster own the franchise is the trend.  I wouldn't be at all surprised if Turner Broadcasting (Warner Bros) is the money behind getting a team.  

Why do you include Fenway there?  Do they own something other than a regional sports network (NESN)?  I'd imagine there are a few other ownerships out there like that and a regional sports network is clearly not the bread winner.  One of these things is not like the other.

[GASabresIUFAN]

1 minute ago, shrader said:

Why do you include Fenway there?  Do they own something other than a regional sports network (NESN)?  I'd imagine there are a few other ownerships out there like that and a regional sports network is clearly not the bread winner.  One of these things is not like the other.

Tell that to Liberty Media and their profitability on the Atlanta Braves.  Just because Bally F'd up by overpaying for the regional broadcast rights doesn't mean that others aren't profitable or working well.

Fenway owns The Sox, Liverpool Football, the Pens, NESN, and even an auto racing company.  By the way Jerry Jacobs and Delaware North (the Bruins owner) owns 20% of NESN.

In fact, NESN, which is very profitable, is likely to add the Pens and Pirates to their broadcast system.

 

[freester]

23 hours ago, Buffalonill said:

Ok will see if they can  Actually fill out in arena which they didn't with what 3 hall of fame players and danny heatley

 

Kovalchuk and Hossa, who is the other HOF? Not Evander Kane 🤣

[French Collection]

2 minutes ago, freester said:

Kovalchuk and Hossa, who is the other HOF? Not Evander Kane 🤣

Chelios played there for one season, I think. He was around 45 years old though.

Edited April 18, 2023 by French Collection

[shrader]

5 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Tell that to Liberty Media and their profitability on the Atlanta Braves.  Just because Bally F'd up by overpaying for the regional broadcast rights doesn't mean that others aren't profitable or working well.

Fenway owns The Sox, Liverpool Football, the Pens, NESN, and even an auto racing company.  By the way Jerry Jacobs and Delaware North (the Bruins owner) owns 20% of NESN.

In fact, NESN, which is very profitable, is likely to add the Pens and Pirates to their broadcast system.

 

Are you not familiar with the meaning of the phrase bread winner?

[GASabresIUFAN]

34 minutes ago, French Collection said:

Chelios played there for one season, I think. He was around 45 years old though.

He played 7 games.

Matt Schneider played 44 games and Keith Tkachuk played 18. Bondra and Recchi also played less than a season in the ATL.

So did many ex-Sabres and soon to be Sabres.  Zhitnik, MacArthur, Thorburn, Afinogenov, Slava (the a-hole) Kozlov, Bolton, Darryl Shannon, Jbot, Dean Slyvester, Bob Corkum, Krupp, Smehlik, and Steve Shields all played various numbers of games.  Krupp played only 4, while Bolton played 6 years. Craig Ramsey also coached the team. Kane and Bogo eventually became Sabres and brought the bad Thrashers karma with them.

Former Sabres draft picks Kamil Piros and Shane Hnidy played as well, plus Williamsville native Jeff Farkas.

[Rasmus_]

Atlanta doesn't deserve a third chance for a franchise.  Sorry.  I just don't understand this. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

12 minutes ago, shrader said:

Are you not familiar with the meaning of the phrase bread winner?

Very, except it doesn’t apply.  The teams and the team owned RSNs are what one would call vertical integration.  The networks exist to give the teams an extra profit center and marketing.  However NESN broadcasts much more than just the teams under the same corporate umbrella. 

Just now, Rasmus_ said:

Atlanta doesn't deserve a third chance for a franchise.  Sorry.  I just don't understand this. 

What does deserve have to do with it? 

[Buffalonill]

1 hour ago, freester said:

Kovalchuk and Hossa, who is the other HOF? Not Evander Kane 🤣

You have Savard and Kozlov was a big part of history 

 

[shrader]

11 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Very, except it doesn’t apply.  The teams and the team owned RSNs are what one would call vertical integration.  The networks exist to give the teams an extra profit center and marketing.  However NESN broadcasts much more than just the teams under the same corporate umbrella. 

 

You talked about the broadcast partners trying to get into the ownership game and you offered up as examples Comcast/NBC, Rogers... and NESN.  Quite honestly, there is absolutely no connection between the three.  Rogers did get into the ownership game and further their media empire after that.  The Sniders have had the Flyers since day 1 and then later built the comcast empire (empire is putting it mildly).  Hell, they're not even a broadcast partner of the league anymore.  Only their regional networks have games.  And then there's the Fenway group and NESN.

Other than Rogers, these aren't broadcasters owning teams.  These are owners getting into broadcasting.  That's a tale as old as time.  The idea of putting a team somewhere because a lead broadcaster is already there, I'm sure it's happened, but I doubt it's all that common.  Hell, this very league actually let the Whalers move away while ESPN was one of their main broadcasters.

[IKnowPhysics]

18 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

TNT wants a team here

Everything makes sense now: Ted Turner is still alive.

[PromoTheRobot]

2 hours ago, IKnowPhysics said:

Everything makes sense now: Ted Turner is still alive.

Ted Turner doesn't own Turner Broadcasting anymore.

[inkman]

On 3/5/2023 at 6:06 PM, bob_sauve28 said:

If it will make the NHL money they will do it. 

And this is where the rubber meets the road.  Cash poor league needs to hit up the ATM to pay off some outstanding debt.  The NHL is hilariously stupid. 

[IKnowPhysics]

23 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Ted Turner doesn't own Turner Broadcasting anymore.

Sold all his stock in '07.

[PromoTheRobot]

On 4/18/2023 at 2:24 PM, inkman said:

And this is where the rubber meets the road.  Cash poor league needs to hit up the ATM to pay off some outstanding debt.  The NHL is hilariously stupid. 

You say that, and yet the sport has never been more popular, covering more of the US, with nearly every game available on TV. With billionaires willing to plunk down $650MM for a team. A long way from the days of OLN. Gary Bettman must be doing something right.

Edited April 19, 2023 by PromoTheRobot

[inkman]

3 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

You say that, and yet the sport has never been more popular, covering more of the US, with nearly every game available on TV. With billionaires willing to plunk down $650MM for a team. A long way from the days of OLN. Gary Bettman must be doing something right.

Because hockey is a great sport. The NHL is run by cavemen. A salesman I used to work with had a quote that has stuck with me for 20 years. We make money in spite of ourselves.  The NHL should adopt that motto.  Stupid rules for uniforms.  You need 18 streaming services to watch their product. They’ve made outdoor game irrelevant by having like 5 a season.  I don’t know where they market their sport but this avid fan NEVER SEES ONE ***** AD.  

[PromoTheRobot]

1 hour ago, inkman said:

Because hockey is a great sport. The NHL is run by cavemen. A salesman I used to work with had a quote that has stuck with me for 20 years. We make money in spite of ourselves.  The NHL should adopt that motto.  Stupid rules for uniforms.  You need 18 streaming services to watch their product. They’ve made outdoor game irrelevant by having like 5 a season.  I don’t know where they market their sport but this avid fan NEVER SEES ONE ***** AD.  

Probably because they are heavily into social media us old farts never use.